One of the things I love about the 21st century is the opportunity it presents for people to do business beyond the borders. My brand might still be an idea on paper if the internet is inexistent but because of the internet, I have been privileged to build a brand beyond the borders. I have a client base in three (3) continents, four (4) countries and in more than twenty (20) cities across the world and counting.
Would you like to do business beyond the borders as well? It’s possible as long as you put your heart to it and you are ready to do the needful.
One question that I get a lot is, what type of business can do business beyond the border? My answer to that is, most businesses can do business beyond the border. Whether you are a service-based business or you sell physical goods, you can do business beyond the borders as long as you have access to the internet.
[Read: From Idea to Innovation Launching Your Own Business]
To help you get started with doing business beyond the borders, I have listed seven (7) steps below. Following these steps will help you make your dreams of doing business beyond the borders come true.
Put Your House in Order: What do I mean by “put your house in order?” This simply means preparing your business to attract customers from all parts of the world.
How do you prepare your business?
You prepare your business by making sure that the view of your business online looks more like a business than a “joke.” In your online profile, fill out every pertinent information like your mission, email, location, contact information
Get Out of Your Nest: Once your house is in order, the next step is to get out of your nest and start interacting with people who match the description of your target audience. If you want to do business beyond the borders, you must learn how to identify and engage with prospects online. One way to identify prospects is with the use of hashtags on Instagram. Search for hashtags used by people who need your goods/services and start interacting with those accounts.
Collect email addresses: Now that you are out of your nest and engaging your target audience, it’s time to start collecting their email addresses using email marketing. This way you can ensure that you have their contact info and you can start adding value.
[Read: Follow These 7 Steps and Watch Your Christmas Sales Soar]
Add value: The phrase “add value” cannot be over-emphasized. Adding value simply means you are sharing information with your target audience that they might have otherwise paid for. Adding value is a great way to earn the trust of your target audience and also position yourself as an expert in that field.
Sell: Doing business beyond the borders involve selling. If you don’t sell, then there’s no way your business can grow. However, selling should be done with integrity. You should always “under promise and over deliver” during the sales process so that your customers will not only continue to come, but they will also refer their friends.
Ask for a testimonial
Focus on marketing: No matter how great your product is, if no one knows about it, your business will be impacted. If you truly want to do business beyond the border, you must focus on marketing. The type of marketing you’ll adopt will depend on your type of business. The goal is to use a holistic approach that will help you maximize your resources
[Read: How to Attract Quality Customers When You’re New to Marketplace]
Doing business beyond the borders is a possibility if you put your heart to it. Keep learning and keep evolving and with time, you’ll reap
Thanks for reading. Would you like to do business beyond the border? Leave a comment below and remember to share this post with a friend.
